The Importance of Timing

Partly thanks to the new year, I thought I knew what I wanted to (and could) get done in 2019. Yet almost any time I tell you all what I'm planning, the road takes a sharp turn ... and the plans change. I think timing is so important when it comes to writing, but I also think it's not entirely in our hands.

As a writer, timing really is everything. It's both a good and a bad thing that the timing really isn't up to the writer. Though it might sound odd to a non-writer ... there's only so much we can do! If you've ever written an essay, I'm sure you know the feeling. Sometimes writing works. And sometimes it doesn't. Timing is everything.

Case in point: I wanted the sequel to Martin Hospitality published in spring of 2018. As in ... 9 or 10 months ago. As it turned out, I didn't even finish the first draft until December 31, 2018. You see where I'm going here?

The timing was not right when I began the first draft. So I took a break and restarted. Even though that was frustrating (as I really did want the series finished), I've had a lot of insights and breakthroughs that wouldn't have been possible if I'd written the first draft sooner than I did.

God knew what timing I needed.

It's important to note that the sooner I learned to be all right with that, the happier I was. Contentment is always a tricky balancing act, and letting go of a vision and plan can be hard. Especially when that plan is your career's timeline. :)

So I really encourage you all to be willing to figure out what works for you. There are times to press on and times to step back. What that looks like for you will depend. But trusting that God is handling the timing is a huge step.

Your readers will understand, truly. At least mine (that would be you) have really blessed me by being patient and still encouraging. Let's be honest ... having people anticipate your next work is both a tremendous blessing and an odd pressure.

And yet, what's meant to happen will happen ... when it's supposed to happen. I'm not saying you shouldn't make deadlines or goals. But remain flexible and open to what God has for your writing. I think we all know that His plans are infinitely better. It's a little harder to realize that He might be behind a case of writer's block.

Write with all of this in mind, and I hope you'll find a little bit of peace and joy in writing again like I have!

Do you work well under pressure? Have you ever had something work out but on a completely different timetable than you planned?

What to Look Forward to in 2019

'Tis the season for all the holiday madness and new year's resolutions. Among all of that, I'm been prayerfully considering what all of this--our community--should look like next year. Just like last year, that means there are a few changes headed our way!

Editing

For the rest of 2018, I charge $2/1,000 words for new editing customers and $1.50/1,000 words for returning editing customers. I'm completely reworking what I offer and how much I charge. SO ... Been thinking about using me in 2019? Get on the calendar this month and you won't have to pay the new prices! Yep. Book in 2018, pay 2018's rate.

I'm already surprisingly full for 2019, so no worries if you aren't sure when you'll want me, etc. Shoot me an email if you plan to use me next year and I'll pencil you in. And when I say surprisingly full, I mean for manuscript edits. Especially if you're new to using me, I recommend trying my cheaper, briefer services!

You can find all of my 2019 editing services and pricing HERE.

While I quit beta reading a while ago to make more time for my editing business, I'm afraid that in 2019 I'll no longer be reading ARCs or participating in blog tours either. As fun as both things can be, I simply can't afford the time constraints and responsibilities. It's so nice to help out other bloggers, but I think I'd like to get away from featuring blog tours on my blog, and I would feel awful if I didn't follow through. So better I just say no in advance. Blessings on all of you who these things work! You're awesome.

Still on the editing note, I've joined Reveries Co. This means that you can get a whole host of services for indie authors by going through them, some of which I offer. So no guarantee you'll get me, but I'm excited for all the awesome things offered here by some wonderful ladies.

Writing

In the writing world, my main goal for 2019 is to publish Martin Crossroads. I am still on track to finish the first draft this year! So many of you keep telling me you'll happily beta for me when the time comes. I wish I could keep track of that, but ... I can't :P

So! I think it's time I go all-out and make a street team! I've already begun a street-team-ish Facebook group HERE. I know not everyone has FB, but it's the best I can do for now. And you should know, if you join my street team, you will be known as a Resonator. *wiggles eyebrows* I plan to have a Resonators-only monthly newsletter up ASAP!

This means that I will be scaling back my regular newsletter to quarterly instead of bi-monthly and possibly add another incentive. The last one of these for this year will go out at the end of the month, so remember that you can sign up for it in the sidebar!

Instead of trying to publish anything else or start new projects, as I have no idea how the MC timeline will go, I'll be focusing on two other things:

• flash fiction submissions (getting published elsewhere looks nice and these are fun!!)
• querying Behind the Act (I still love this manuscript and want to find an agent for traditional publication)

And as for blogging itself ... I intend to keep that up once a week. ;)

That seems like a lot, but I think it will all be for the better! Any suggestions or tips? How are you changing things in the new year?

NaNoWriMo + What's Next

It's December! Which means National Novel Writing Month is over. While many of my friends clocked insane word counts (either in total or just yesterday in an effort to reach their goals), I haven't written in several days. Because I hit my goal early! (Stay tuned for snippets.)

For those of you who are new or can't keep your 100 friends' NaNo goals straight, my goal was to write a 30k novella based off my trip to New York. I named it Simply Jane Smith.

The 50,000 words that NaNo wants me to write is a little much for my sanity (and wrists). I've only written 30k in a month once before and that was when I wrote the first draft to my published novella Andora's Folly. I figured it was time to do it again since I needed a break from my main writing project anyway.

I'm happy to announce that I finished the first draft of Simply Jane Smith on November 28th at 28,449 words. A little short of my targeted word count, granted, but it feels so good to have finished something!! I think it's been ages since I did that.

I can already hear you asking the question but was it garbage? The exciting answer is no. While it's definitely a first draft, it's got a bit of a plot and some characters I'd be happy to revisit someday. 

"Someday" is the key word. I have no timeline to return to the story in the near future. So while I'm content with a finished draft, I know it stinks for you guys not getting anything published for another bit.

To tide you over, here are a few little snippets that stood out to me as worth sharing while I was writing:

Next, I'll be returning to Martin Crossroads. Right, the sequel. The sequel you all want. That refuses to be written. I've been reading about Tolkien some lately, and it was an encouragement to me that writing The Lord of the Rings took him literal eons and about did him in. But I will conquer just like he did!!! Or else.

While I'm sure I'll have plenty of life, editing projects, and whatever else distract me from my good intentions, my tentative writing plan going forward looks like this:

• finish the first draft of Martin Crossroads in 2018
• publish MC in 2019 at all costs!!
• squeeze in revising Behind the Act so I can query hopefully over the summer
• submit flash fiction for my "fun writing"
• possible chisel away at the other gazillion ideas I have ...

That sounds like a ton to me, but I'm also super tired at the moment, so who knows? Maybe it'll be totally feasible. My priority will be Martin Crossroads if it kills me. Don't get me wrong, I really do love where I hope the story will end up. It's getting it there that's slowly killing me. But it will come together and I will get it to you guys! 2019 is going to be the year. ;) Which means by this time next year it should be in your hands. Won't that be a wonderful day for all of us. 

Now tell me all about what you did this November! NaNo or not, what has your latest project been? What do you hope to accomplish in 2019? By all means, give me details as I certainly can't keep everyone's doings straight. ;)

Farris's Birthday (with snippets!)

Farris Ebworthy (who is but an infant in Martin Hospitality) had his birthday on October 2nd! Just like last year, I practically forgot. Such a horrible author, I know. It wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have the words "Farris Ebworthy, Oct 2" in literal print for all the world to see. So since a dear reader reminded me of the event, I thought we should do a little celebrating to make it up to one of my absolute favorites.

Farris is really the best. I know you all only got to see him as a six-month-old (and younger) in Martin Hospitality, but trust me. He's turning out well. ;)

SO happy birthday to Farris. Even though you're fictional, who passes up a chance to party? A.k.a. enjoy all the party-related things like food. Or in this case presents.

I don't think I've publicly shared any official words from Martin Crossroads yet, so I thought it'd be a good idea to share some Farris-y snippets with you all today.

I'll be honest--I absolutely hate finding snippets to share. I think it makes me panic that if I can't find one line or paragraph that's good on it's own ... maybe the whole thing is rubbish. But I put myself through it anyway just for you and Farris.

The first snippet is when he's coming on five years old.

“Farris!”

            “Hi, Mama.” He walked the beam a few paces as if he were in gymnastics—something Gemma had considered to get his energy out and now set her mind against.

“What are you doing? Josiah, go get the ladder.”

“It’s OK, Mom! Watch this.”

He crouched before leaping off the beam.

For one heart-stopping moment, Gemma foresaw him breaking every bone in his body as he fell the twenty feet. A stall consumed him with nothing more than a rustle for the sound of impact.

Josiah made it inside first.

           She released a breath when she saw two arms and two legs poking out of a loose pile of hay. He is in so much trouble.

~~~

And the second snippet from when he's fifteen ... ish

Farris felt something stir inside him. Something beyond pity. He hadn’t thought about dying today. He didn’t have to worry about where his next meal was going to come from, and he knew the twins didn’t either. Together their fathers had harvested the most prosperous crop for miles this past fall. Want was the last thing on their minds.

            Hannah set her chin. “There are kids who die every day from things like hunger and thirst. That’s not even the sad part. The sad part is that most of them haven’t heard about Jesus. People here all know who He is and lots of them still walk away. But there? They don’t have a chance unless we help them. So how will you help?”

            An uneasy silence settled over the room. She curtsied and applause followed.

            “Where did she come from?” Ash whispered.

            Noah shrugged. Farris didn’t care where she’d come from. Through his speech and the rest of the day, he couldn’t get her gauntlet out of his head.

~~~

That gives you a pretty good idea of his personality! So excited to share him with you all. To close it all out, if I could pick one song for Farris, it would be this one.

What do you think is in Farris's future? I'm so excited to share him with you all!!

How I Write a Synopis (with reveal!)

Last week my post was on writing flash fiction. Today I'm going to share some tips on synopsis writing, otherwise known as blurbs. You know, that pesky paragraph or two that goes on the back of a book? Hated by authors all over the universe. Unlike flash fiction, these aren't optional if you're headed down the author path. So the less miserable they make you, the better.

I actually love writing blurbs. To me, it's highly satisfying to make a book sound super exciting and all dramatic in a few short phrases. That doesn't mean it's always easy, though.

Tips to keep in mind

I always thought they needed to be as short as possible, but several well-loved authors I know getting published through big traditional publishers have super long blurbs ... like four+ paragraphs or just really long. So maybe length is personal taste. And my personal taste is short. ;) Mainly because I think being concise is important.

As I'm sure you know, the ultimate goal of a synopsis is to make someone read (or buy) the book. This means it has to be engaging and provide a "hook" that's unavoidable.

Of course, if it's not someone's genre or what have you, there may be only so much you can do. This is not about making false promises! If you give the wrong impression, you're setting yourself up for one-star reviews. But you do want to pose a problem or a "what if" that will appeal to people who read comparable books, which is why many blurbs end in a question.

Something lots of new blurb writers struggle with is the fact that it feels like you're giving spoilers. That's because you are. Often there's one vital piece of information revealed in the first few chapters that needs to go in the back matter to set up the story and the drama of the real revelation in the book. Trust me, it's a small worthwhile sacrifice to make and no one will mind.

So the real dilemma always becomes what do you tell? Only the pertinent details. Again, you're setting up the story. They don't need to know a bunch of names, places, eye color, or distant relatives yet. They'll get that throughout the first few chapters when they decided to start the book. The main character's name, role, where it's set, and whether or not God's a character would all be good things to include.

My formula

Ultimately, all those details to keep in mind make my process look something like this:

Paragraph One

• Sentence 1: short and punchy introduction to the main character
• Sentences 2-3: set up the story with those pertinent environmental details
• Sentences 3-4: give the moment that changes everything

Paragraph Two (if there's a second main character or entity)

• Sentence 1: short and punchy introduction to the secondary character/entity
• Sentences 2-3: paint the scene for this character again with pertinent details
• Sentences 3-4: show how this character relates to the first *optional* (some people prefer not to connect those dots until later in the story depending on how it's told!)

Paragraph Three (this will be paragraph two if there isn't a second main thing to introduce)

• Sentences 1-2: state what begins to happen and what must or does happen as a result (fear, sacrifice)
• Sentences 2-3: present the dilemma this poses for the character (often a question)

I hope that's helpful as a basic formula, but don't let it restrict you. I didn't use the formula to write my published blurbs (it just fits them). I did use it on the bonus blurb below. :)

Example blurbs

Here are the blurbs I have for my published books to exemplify that process.

***

Martin Hospitality (132 words)

Gemma Ebworthy is eighteen, pregnant, and alone. Now that she's been evicted, she finds herself sleeping in a barn, never dreaming that tomorrow could bring kindness of a life-changing magnitude.

The Martins aren't a typical family--even for rural Kansas. With more kids than can be counted on one hand and a full-time farm, Gemma must make a lot of adjustments to fit in. But despite their many differences, Gemma finds herself drawn to this family and their radical Christian faith.

When Gemma's past collides with her yet again, she must begin revealing her colorful history. With every detail Gemma concedes, she fears she will lose the Martins' trust and the stable environment she desires for herself and her unborn child. Just how far can the Martins' love and God's forgiveness go?

Andora's Folly (99 words)

A Pandora's Box retelling

Andora is a beautiful young woman with insatiable curiosity. Raised in splendor, she is spoiled by her privileged life. When a love letter is slid under her door, her life takes a drastically unromantic turn. Nothing makes sense—her arranged marriage, the gifts her parents bestow on her wedding day, or her new husband’s temperament.

As Andora begins to unravel the mysteries around her, she ignites a chain of events that have the power to sabotage her entire village forever. Only her new-found wisdom as a desperate peasant's wife can save her from her folly.

***

Both of those blurbs give away the entire first chapter, but they work! There are lots of optional goodies as well, like a log line, quote, descriptor (like with Andora's Folly), or even an editorial review. However, I think all of that is mere icing on the cake. The synopsis has to stand on its own.

You can do it! Those are not first drafts. I wrote and rewrote them, sent them to a trusted friend or two (who have good blurbs), and rewrote them again. Don't be afraid to revise! The synopsis for Andora's Folly underwent a total rewrite because I removed one chapter, thus changing the whole crux of the book. #oops

And just for fun, I'm sharing the brand new blurb for Martin Crossroads, subject to change of course! WARNING: contains mild spoilers for book 1.

***

Martin Crossroads (130 words)

Gemma Ebworthy won't be a single mother for much longer. Engaged to a man she's convinced she doesn't deserve, her new life with a husband, Savior, and growing family is only the beginning of her journey forward.

Farris grows up under pressures stemmed from his own conception. Fighting to exceed his mother's expectations, he finds a fast friend in his adoptive father. Yet the differences between him and his siblings continue to cause a rift in his heart.

With each development in the new Martin family's farm life, they must learn to overcome the past together. And when the past reappears in a form Gemma never thought possible, her trust in God and in her son will be tested. What will it take to bring them through the crossroad?

I sincerely hope that will be of help! Come back to leave your success stories!! On a scale of 1 to hellfire, how much do you hate writing a synopsis? If you're interested in some help, I charge a flat rate of $10 for a synopsis edit.

Once again, sign up for the newsletter in the sidebar to see the Martin Hospitality prequel flash fic in your inbox next week!

Speaking of my books, I'm participating in a Christmas in July event with a bunch of writer friends! My portion will be on July 28, but check out other stops along the way for individual giveaways and bonus ways to enter the really large giveaway (international option as well)! There's all kinds of Christmassy stuff going on to give you a break from the heat with a good read. 

Have a great Independence Day!

Camp NaNo Recap (with video)

I survived the epic, renowned Camp NaNo gauntlet (I mean writing challenge). I haven't always met my goal, but this year I did. Here's how.

Camp NaNo you're in a "cabin" group chat with friends and set a goal. (If you're really awesome, you have a cabin name (Mitchtam) and a separate chat room for wars.) My goal was 30,000 words on my Martin Crossroads draft. I reached it!

How did I do it?! I list a couple things in this video!

As I said in the video, that wouldn't have happened without my cabinmates: Alea, Ashley, Athelas, Faith, Hannah, Kara, Katie, Nadine, Rosalie, Savannah, Sword Girl. They were amazing!! (And yes, famous o.o) I really hope I didn't forget anyone. #writerslife

The thing is, as thrilled as I was to hit my goal in a hectic month, that's not what it's all about. At least not for me. It's really about making progress and finding what works to hit my goals. I'm always relieved to find I can hit goals and can write decent words. I'm not a consistent or very disciplined writer, so working on those two things amongst friends makes for a pretty fun (if insane) experiment!

Did you do Camp NaNo? How did it go? How do you reach your goals (in any area of life)?

Just as a reality side note here, I did this entire blog post on my phone. That's basically what my post-NaNo writing life has looked like ;P

How I Create Characters

I was asked what the number one source is for my character inspiration ... and I realized it's kind of a cool process for me that I want to share with you guys.

I've never really thought about what inspires character creation in particular until that question came up. That's when I realized that it always starts with a setting. Always! A setting or a "what if" often strikes me first and the main characters always pop into my head after that. Faces, genders, their roles in the story ... a few basics like that. There are just given people that apparently have to accompany my ideas. 

I honestly have no idea how creating characters works for most people? But very rarely do I have to intentionally sit down and create a character because I have a huge hole. (Exception: Hayes Delaney in Behind the Act.)

It's really kind of neat to me that my brain associates the mood of a setting with a potential storyline. I think it's from there that the main character is born because their goals and arc have to fit the mood of the plot for there to be an actual plot ... When a main character's arc is a struggle, that's when I know the story really isn't ready to be written.

If you think about it, that odd spontaneous process is really rather cool. We judge people by their appearances all the time even though we shouldn't. Their mannerisms, attire, voice, smell ... everything points you to picturing them one way (sometimes correctly, sometimes incorrectly). I guess what my brain does is exactly the opposite of that for creating characters.

I take mostly mental notes on people I see around me for reference ... but when a particular idea captures my mind, I generate a character that seems to fit based on my experience. Try as I might (I've found from personal experience), it's almost impossible to tweak the "rough draft" of that character if you will. I develop them, sure, but I get stuck on their hair color, personality, etc. pretty quickly. Changing those details just seems unnatural! At least for the main characters.

Of course, I don't generate thirty characters when I see a castle postcard. All my other little side characters appear once I've planned the story some and begin writing. Sometimes I can envision them beforehand? But not usually. I wouldn't say they all write themselves per se, but some do!

So when people compliment me on my characters, I don't really know what to say. I do work on making sure they're unique (not too cookie cutter), distinct from one another, and important to the story. But other than that? Everything kind of just happens and gets revised ... Not that it isn't hard work; it  just seems like half the work is automatic.

At least that's the way it worked for Martin Hospitality, Andora's Folly, and Behind the Act. I really, really need it to happen that way for Martin Crossroads when I begin writing it again April 1st. I think the lack of new characters in it, since it's a sequel, has been one of my major roadblocks.

I know what I'll be working on until I begin writing it again tomorrow. ;)

And in light of characters and it being Easter weekend and everything ... can we just take a moment to appreciate God's creativity in making people and how amazing it is that He died to save his world of protagonists-turned-antagonists? I mean ... wouldn't you die to save your characters even if they made bad choices? Even your villains?

Am I super crazy? How does your brain generate characters? Have an amazing Easter weekend and I'll see you in April!

Martin Hospitality Turns 1 :')

My firstborn little book baby is one today! *sniff* Cue all the reminiscing, Q+A, giveaway, sneak peeks, and just about everything else!

WHAT PEOPLE HAVE TO SAY:

I swear I'm not doing this to be vain xD Those of you who are published will understand just how lovely it is to hear people love your book (especially people whose opinion you value), and I am being choosy and sharing only a few tearjerkers, I promise. ;)

You know, the Martins are my newest favorite fictional family :D ~ Lisa on page 200

How can a person switch favorite characters so many times in a single book?! ~ Kaitlyn K on page 365

 There is something so wonderful about this book. I can't even put my finger on it- it's just so pleasing and peaceful. I loved it! ~ Rachel's Bookish World

Miss Abigayle’s writing style has an old-fashioned feel to it that absolutely sucks you into the story while giving you the warm fuzzies. ... This is the kind of story that you want to curl up with and forget life’s problems for a few hours. ~ Ivy Rose

This book is so happy. I just felt bright and uplifted after finishing it. ~ Olivia Rollins 

I'm so thankful for all of my readers and reviewers *sniff*

Have you reviewed Martin Hospitality yet? I'm just going to remind you that some of you who "reviewed" on Goodreads have actually only gotten as far as "review to come once published." Which is totally fine! Just a little reminder there ;) I'm also going to throw out there that Amazon is the place to post reviews. As in it helps me a LOT. Even more than Goodreads. So if all of you would copy and past your Goodreads reviews, I would get +30 reviews before the day is over. What are you waiting for?!

THE AWARDS:

Again, I'm not vain ... just insanely proud of this accomplishment! Mainly because I know for a fact there is no. freaking. way my book would have ever done this one its own. Nope. Not even with my help. Soak it in, my friends. You're looking at a supernatural act of God.

On the note of awards, I've been considering putting the award on the cover of my book. There's space, the color is decent, and I feel like it might help catch people's eye?? But I want your thoughts on this! Vote in the poll for me? Pretty please???

THE STATS:

In case you've forgotten I'm a statistics fanatic queen B)

Goodreads:

How many copies printed: 159

(I'm guessing I easily sold 100 if not more of these)

How many Amazon copies sold: 51

Grand total copies in existence: 210

Gracious, that feels like a lot to me. It'll be a while before I can put "Over 1 million copies in print" on the front but that's okay. Maybe my goal for its second birthday? (Kidding, I kid.) xD

I'm pretty sure I remember telling my brother that I'd be really happy if I sold 100 copies in its first year, and I definitely surpassed that thanks to promoting family and friends and some successful book signings. ^.^

The Martin Hospitality e-book will be FREE for the first time ONLY tomorrow Sunday, February 4 in celebration. Spread the word and grab a copy while you can!!

Sign up for my newsletter in the sidebar before the afternoon of Sunday, February 4 to get an exclusive sneak peek at Martin Crossroads (the sequel)! Hint: it involves Farris's siblings ;)

If you enjoy baking, check out this Pumpkin Chiffon Pie recipe and see if yours can be as yummy as Ginger Martin's. ;)

3 GIVEAWAYS:

#1 - signed paperback + 4 signed bookmarks + 3-pack of my favorite pens

#2 - e-book + 4 signed bookmarks

#3 - 4 signed bookmarks

The giveaway goes through Saturday, February 17.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Okay, so I tried to do a spoiler warning for those who haven't read Martin Hospitality, but if you stop listening when I say to you won't be able to hear me end the spoiler warning haha xD SO. Maybe skip around when I say spoiler warning if you're really that concerned? Sorry xP

These questions were so good. SO GOOD! Think I'm exaggerating?

I hope you all enjoyed that! I still don't know how to edit a video so ... yeah. Instead of a blooper reel at the end you get it sprinkled all throughout lest I bore you with perfection xP Thanks again for the terrific questions; I hope my answers met the challenge.

MERCHANDISE:

To say I'm obsessed with the idea of bookish merchandise would be an ... understatement. To say the least. I'm still greatly brainstorming quality, inexpensive things I can offer, so I'd love to hear what you would like to buy. But for now, I can promise you these:

12 different cardstock bookmark - available NOW on my Etsy shop (why yes I did design all of this week ... o__o)

Themed candle - coming summer 2018, courtesy of BookBurn Candles

Magnetic bookmarks - coming ASAP  (I've ordered the supplies for these and just have to make sure my plan to make them actually works)

What else? As I said, ideas are welcome! T-shirts, frameable quotes, mugs, decks of cards ...

SEQUEL TIMELINE:

Initially, my hope was this spring. Due to the amount of planning this novel is taking and the fact that I've devoted some of my time to other writing endeavors ... that's obviously not happening. While I would love to have Martin Crossroads out in 2018, I'm not sure how feasible that is ... I probably won't know until I attempt to draft it yet again (which will be soon). At all costs I would absolutely like it to be out by spring 2019 -- 2 years after Martin Hospitality. I'll keep you all posted! And as I said above, you can get an additional sneak peek if you sign up for my newsletter before tomorrow afternoon!

And now for the parting photo:

Thank you all so much!!! I know this is how I end almost every post and video, but I have no words to express how much you all mean to me. If Martin Hospitality could talk, I'm sure he'd agree ;)

Q: Okay, so how much time do you think I spent preparing this blog post? o.o You'll find my estimate next week.

So I Talked to an Agent (and what that means)

I talked to an agent!!! While at OCW, Ivy and I decided that we should pitch. Just do it. It'd be good practice, and we would expect nothing. So that's what we did. (Crazy best friend pressure. XP) The question is, how did it go and how did it change my writing life?

I really, really did not want to talk to an agent. I was stuck in Portland with limited internet, no pictures, no handouts. I had nothing that they recommended having in order to pitch to an agent. Not even a manuscript I'd begun. Why? Because I'd decided I was happy working on the Martin Series and didn't want to begin anything else. (HA!)

Then Bill Jensen of Willam K. Jensen Literary Agency said there were a lot of openings for agent appointments, and we should sign up even if all we had were ideas. Well then. That shot down every reason I had for not pitching.

After a little bit of research and are-we-really-doing-this?! nerves, Ivy convinced me to snag the last spot with Jensen. After all, he fit my overall genre the best. And she was right: I'd regret it if I didn't just go for it.

He was several minutes late to the appointment, which at first made me so nervous. I could have dashed out the door before he ever showed up and scratched my name off the list. But I didn't. So when he did show up, it put me at ease, because is there any other proof that someone prestigious is human, than them being late?? Not really.

Having never done this before, I really have no idea how the appointment went. He kept me from rambling and reassured me that he had taken on young authors (Rachel Coker!) before, and he had signed people from just an idea. I didn't say everything I think I should have said, but the ending to the conversation kind of stunned me.

Mr. Jensen asked to see the first three chapters once I was ready, and then he'd let me know.

For all I know, they could say that to everyone. I don't know what I was expecting. But I was not expecting that. 

So that brings me to the obvious change that now must take place in my writing. Since I have an agent expecting three chapters of a manuscript that at the time wasn't even fully plotted ... I can't keep plugging away at Martin Crossroads at the speed of a turtle.

I feel so awful setting the sequel aside and leaving all of my wonderful, expectant readers hanging!! But I have never been so excited about shaking up my writing life. :D So now that little story, Matinee Regulars, that I shared with you in this post, is being brought to life. Although several things in the description I gave you have already changed :P

I had brainstormed a little with my sister a few weeks before the conference, and that's the only reason I was able to pitch the story. Then Ivy and I brainstormed for several hours at her house, and the pieces just started falling into place. Let me tell you, that has not happened since writing Martin Hospitality last year. 

And that made me realize something. Writing Martin Crossroads next was my idea. Not God's. Did it make the most logical sense? Yes. But I have spent months on it and gotten literally nowhere. And now this little Pinterest-board-of-a-story idea flies out of my mouth in front of an agent, and guess what I'm writing?

I haven't enjoyed writing this much in over a year. So it feels so amazing to finally be writing a story that is working with me, not against me. And my only explanation for that is because God is working with me and my story as well.

So it's a little bit of good news and bad news. Despite how things continue to go with Mr. Jensen, I've taken the first step to becoming a hybrid author. The sequel to Martin Hospitality will be delayed. But the story you all demanded several weeks ago is under construction!

Now is that a crazy God thing or what?!

So Many Ideas // A First Look at Future Novels

Everything I've been doing of late has been leading me back to the million actually 22 story ideas I have. And those are just the ones I love and want to be published novels someday. So I'm going to share some of my thoughts on the stories that I'm really thinking I might develop soon ... ish.

With the increased traffic on My Writings page, considering pitching at the OCW conference WHICH I LEAVE FOR IN TWO DAYS, redoing my Pinterest, and brainstorming plot bunnies with the sis, literally everything has been screaming: think about your stories!

DISCLAIMER #1: Since I am in the middle of writing Martin Crossroads (book 2 of the Martin Generations Series), that project will keep me going for probably the next two years at least. Anything I talk about here today will most likely not come to be until after this current project is complete. :)

But who cares, right?! It's still fun to dream of these babies. None of these happen to be mentioned on My Writings page. And I'm pretty sure I haven't even whispered about most of these. So count yourself blessed ;) I even have an excessive amount of mock covers because I get excited XP

DISCLAIMER #2: Everything you're about to see is purely hypothetical and mostly just my excitement. ^.^

I get excited every time I think about this one!!! The Hills of Tyler happen to be my ancestors: Samuel and Melissa Pearl Hill, who raised eight children in what my family now calls the Tyler House. It's located in Tyler, Texas and is over a hundred years old! While it could be in a better part of town, and requires a lot of upkeep, it's so precious because of its history--the Hills became very influential people in Tyler! Besides that, my paternal grandfather is the. last. living. person. who can tell me all about them. 

His mother was a Hill, and Pa knows all the haunts, hobbies, and delightful trivia. He can still show me where the warehouses are, the lumberyard my great-great-grandfather began ... he remembers that Uncle Ernest went by Buddy and invented a cream for athlete's foot called BIFF. Aunt Gladys was legally blind and had her daughter tell her the color of street lights so she could drive. Sam Hill (yes, really) built row houses for the lower income families and Pa collected the minimal rent. I mean, it goes on and on! 

People were born and died in the rooms I sleep in when I stay there. And the house is full of old books and family portraits. So why wouldn't I want to document the family that started it all? I'm slowly collecting the information on them that can only come from Pa so all those memories won't be lost with him! I'd really love to see this published while he's still here as well. (Considering he just "mostly" retired at 79, I should have some time.)

This one would be something along the lines of a time travel literary serial that I would feature on my blog in "episodes." I was marveling over the beauty of certain TV shows Doctor Who and Downton Abbey, especially the way there's a huge overarching plot for each season, some the span longer than that, and then the neat little bow plots that get resolved in each episode. I would love to be able to write like that!! So I thought, why not try? I could do "episodes" on my blog and then publish "seasons." 

As far as content, it's fairly vague at the moment, but has shards of awesomeness. Here's a first draft blurb: 

Since the beginning of time, magical creatures called Keepers have been responsible for the integrity of literature. They "keep" a Library--hidden to the menial human eye--that contains one of every book ever written. With such responsibility comes the power to enter the books' timelines when necessary. After one Keeper abuses his power, and the subtle evils he seeds in the stories must be combatted, it's up to the newly commissioned Keeper Q to discover the solution before all of the world suffers as a result of a world without story.

*tada* The goal is to feature a book per episode that has something just slightly wrong about it which must be remedied before the changes to the book's timeline become irreversible and permanently damaged. I might even go so far as to have the "end result" of the meddling be the story we have now. Who's to say what the original looked like before such interventions were necessary? The point is only that we still have good books :)

Have I mentioned these spinoffs before? I can't remember ... but that could very well make the "finish writing Martin Generations" take a lot longer! I've actually already begun planning Anneliese's story, which will take place when she is in her late twenties/early thirties. It will line up with parts of Martin Crossroads, most likely. :)

As for Farris and Emmaline's stories, I just think they'd be fun to tell, as well as a way for everyone to follow along with certain characters still. Who knows, I could do origin stories as well. (Stuart and Joy Martin, anyone?) So let me know if there's a particular character you want to follow in detail! With any luck, these would only be novella length (30,000 words or so).

Before I launch into this one, can we just appreciate that cover for a minute? Please? *happy sigh* Everything about that is 150% perfect for this fledgling of an idea. And honestly this one has been downright plaguing me of late. The playlist has come together nicely. I talked to my sister about it for a few hours the other night and we nailed down the basic plot. It's going to be epic, you guys!! 

Also, it's another contemporary. I wasn't sure for a while, but it's been officially agreed upon by me and my adviser now ;) It shall also be a non-romance. You're welcome. ((And to be completely honest, I'd love to see this one traditionally published? Maybe??))

But first I'd have to get good at pitching it -_- Summing this one up kills me, but at least there's a Pinterest board and Spotify playlist that can help me do it justice.

Basically, it follows two characters who are currently named Eliza Birch and Christopher Maddon. Eliza lives with her grandfather. He even homeschools her, and the most vital part of that education is their weekly trip to matinee showings in the small-town, old-timey theatre. While hoodies, earbuds, and poetry books are Eliza's only friends (and she's happy that way), Christopher Maddon changes that when he's the first newcomer the town has seen in twenty years. While he's less than enthused to be handing out popcorn, Eliza and her grandfather intrigue him and soon their passion for cinema begins rubbing off as he spends more time with them. Their notions on God and history baffle him, not to mention worry his parents. But more than anything, Christopher wants to be a human interest journalist for People magazine. And the Birches just might be his first story. As a thank you for everything they've done for him, Christopher encourages Eliza to join him in playing crowd people in a local movie shooting. Eliza's love for acting wins over her introverted personality when the director takes special notice and offers her a more prominent part, and eventually a multi-year contract. As Eliza launches into stardom, Christopher feverishly works his way through school, and the local cinema shuts down. When he's assigned to write an article on her, he's dismayed to find that Eliza of all people has come to believe that the face she puts on for the cameras is the real her. He'll do anything to convince her she's not the person she could be, and that perhaps this whole acting thing was a bad idea.

What are your thoughts on those?? It feels so good to be able to talk about them with you guys! As I said, any of those details could change, but the point is: they will hopefully all be physical books you can hold at some point in the next 10 years xP So in case you were still wondering, I'm totally in this author business for the long run. ;)

Talk to me! What awesome story ideas do you have? Any storyboards to share? If you're interested in learning more about my other ideas, definitely check here and here. :)

Happy Mother's Day // A Letter to Gemma

Before anything else, Gemma Ebworthy from Martin Hospitality is a mother. With everyone else celebrating Mother's Day by sharing their favorite mothers in literature, I thought I would share something more personal from my own stories. Consider this a little preview into book 2 :)

Farris is only a little baby bean in Martin Hospitality. But I'm enjoying exploring his character in the sequel at the moment. Here's a letter from his teenage self to his mom, Gemma:

Mom,

Happy Mother's Day! You're a really amazing mother, and I mean that. I know you've gotten so much more than you bargained for on the motherhood front, but you've done splendid.

I'm so glad that God stirred your heart so that I am here today, appreciating the fact that you're my mom. You've been putting us first ever since.

I love that you still read us books aloud, kiss us all goodnight, and think of every possible dangerous situation so that we stay safe.

I'm sorry for all the times I was a horrible, obstinate child. However, without my many arguments with you when I was little, I may never have discovered my love for debate and public speaking. So it wasn't all for nothing!

Thank you for shielding me so I could be a child, and for learning to let me go so that I can be an adult. I appreciate your honesty about our past and your confidence in who I am despite all of that.

I know we haven't always seen eye to eye on things, but I love you. You're strong and beautiful and I hope to find someone just like you.

And thanks for the big brown eyes. I hear they're my best feature. 

Love from your son,

Farris

~~~~~

I think he turns out pretty well, don't you? :) My own mom and Gemma have several things in common. I hope you all had a lovely Sunday with your mothers!